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President: Rob Schimmelpfennig Executive Vice President: Judy Robson Vice President: Mike Fedler Vice President: Bill Kline Treasurer: Rich Vanek Secretary: Debbi Waring BOARD MEMBERS: Baerbel Baginski, WSL Steve Candella Neroy Carter Arnie Esterer Adele Herzog Mary Ellen Higley Ken Johnson Mark Jones Randy Jones Gloria Kaull Kim Laurello Ed Looman Chris McClure Tom Picken Scot Sinkler Linda VanBuren Joseph Varckette Ellen Winer Phyllis Duffy-Zala | ||||
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Executive Director Cindy Rimpela Business Manager Pamela Hammond Public Relations/Marketing Coordinator Shelagh Dubsky Dance Coordinator Lyn Savarise Music Coordinator Meeghan Humphrey Visual Arts Coordinator Phil Mullet Technical Liason Joe Ford Maintenance Coordinator Marquitta Mollick Evening Desk Coordinator | ||||
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 2928 West 13th St. Ashtabula, Ohio 44004 phone: 440-964-3396 |
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Posted: Wednesday, June 25, 2003
Brown Bag Concet Series Begins July 9  Pack your lunches and lawn chairs! The annual Brown Bag concert series returns to parks in Ashtabula and Jefferson this summer, with a schedule of performers sure to satisfy most musical tastes.
Brown Bag concerts are held outdoors twice a week from mid-July to mid-August. Ashtabula concerts are held on Wednesdays at the North Park Gazebo in downtown Ashtabula, while Jefferson concerts take place on Thursdays at Village Park on East Jefferson Street in Jefferson (a few blocks from downtown). All concerts begin at noon and last about an hour, and the entertainment is acceptable for all ages. Kicking off the series in Ashtabula is singer Ron Cramer. A Jefferson resident for more than 25 years, Cramer spends his days as an  elementary school teacher in the Jefferson Area Local Schools. He is also very active in local theater, having appeared in shows at both the Arts Center and as part of Jefferson’s Falcon Follies. Ron’s next theatrical endeavor will come in August, in the comedy “Lucky Stiff,” here on the Straw Hat stage.
He and his wife, Pat, have also been working with the Jefferson Players at Jefferson High School for over seven years. Ron’s singing style has been described in the past as country/folk/oldies/ obscure. He enjoys the older songs, but sometimes can’t resist throwing in a few newer one also. As Ron says, “I play any song I like, and that’s the only criteria for song selection.” Ron Cramer will perform at the Ashtabula stage on July 9, and in Jefferson on July 24. The second week of concerts will feature the same group at both the Ashtabula and Jefferson venues. Northeasterly Winds, a woodwind quintet, will take the stage July 16 in Ashtabula and July 17 in Jefferson.  Northeasterly Winds was originally founded in 1999 to play for an Ashtabula Area Orchestra Ensemble Concert. In the past 4 years they have since played at many churches, receptions and other venues around the area.
While their repertoire leans toward classical music, the members play various styles as well. A typical concert may include pieces by Beethoven or the Beatles, as well as rags by Scott Joplin and pieces based on folk music. All members of the quintet teach private music lessons and are involved with the Ashtabula Area Orchestra, as well as many other musical activities around the area. Flutist Nanette Case performs in and directs church choirs. Oboe player Kathryn Zetts teaches vocal and general music, and also directs the bell choir at Assumption Church in Geneva. She has also performed instrument demonstrations for public school classs and the After School Discovery program. Bassoon player Marc Fannin is a member of a bassoon quartet, and plays saxophone in a saxophone quartet. Horn player Jim Fuller is a church pianist and keyboard player, and also sings lead vocals for the Blues Project. Clarinetist Miriam Thayer, also an accomplished pianist and church organist, is the accompanist for the Geneva Community Church. Four of the five members of Northeasterly Winds are also members of the Ashtabula Symphonic Band and The Broadway Brass. Interested in the sounds of jazz and swing? Then be sure to check out 3 Jazz Trio. The group is the brainchild of Carl Fogel, the group’s percussionist, who had worked several jazz venues in Northeastern Ohio, and had played many gigs with Tom Poultney, the group’s keyboardist. Upon playing at the Raintree Restaurant in Chagrin Falls, the pair met up with Buzz Cronquist, the group’s woodwind player. The rest, as they say, is history. 3 Jazz Trio plays traditional jazz standards in a truly unique way. The amazing facet of the group is that Poultney, who lost his sight at age 11, has the ability to play and interpret anything that he hears into the finest of jazz tradition. 3 Jazz Trio will perform in Jefferson on July 10, and in Ashtabula on July 23. Theater enthusiasts in the area may recognize the name Linda Fundis as one which has graced the stage for many productions both here at the AAC and also at Rabbit Run Theater in Madison. This year she is performing in her first ever Brown Bag concerts, held July 31 in Jefferson and August 6 in Ashtabula. 
Fundis first appeared on stage in 1983, in Carl Reiner’s autobiographical comedy “Enter Laughing” at the Little Theatre of Romeoville (Illinois). Since then, she has performed in “twenty-some” major productions and has directed “innumerable” students and adults, mainly in Lake and Ashtabula counties. From 1994-1998 she served as Outreach Theater Coordinator for the AAC, during which time she sang and danced her way across the boards of just about every elementary stage in Lake, Ashtabula and Geauga County - and not always dressed as a human! Fundis was last seen on stage in the winter dinner theater production of “Suds,” in which she played the guardian angel Marge. Fundis will reprise this role in August, for the encore production of “SUDS” at Straw Hat. When most people think of polka, they probably think of Lawrence Welk or Frankie Yankovic. But polka lovers in northeastern Ohio may also think of their own Bill Orquist. An Ashtabula native, Orquist has been playing the accordion since he was six years old. He heard his first “Yankovic Polka” on the radio when he was only 11 years old, and decided that he wanted to play that type of music. Although he has played other styles of music, the polka is his “true love,” and he has performed professionally in both Ohio and Pennsylvania. According to Orquist, he “has performed in 99 percent of the nightclubs in Ashtabula at one time or another, and for over 500 wedding receptions.” The highlight of Orquist’s career came in the 1970’s, when “America’s Polka King,” Frankie Yankovic, asked him to fill in for him at the Yankovic Nightclub on Euclid Avenue while Frankie toured the country. Orquist will perform in Ashtabula on July 30, and again on the Jefferson stage on August 7.  Finishing out the Brown Bag season will be folk singer Bill Keener. An Ohio native, Keener has been entertaining audiences both here and in Florida since 1975. He has performed children’s programs as “Old MacDonald” for Lake Farmpark in Kirtland, and is a staple at area nursing homes and senior centers.
His musical styles include folk, easy listening, Irish and standards. Keener will perform in Ashtabula on August 13, and again in Jefferson on August 14. Sponsored by the Ashtabula Arts Center, The Star Beacon and Gazette Publications, Brown Bag concerts are free and open to the public. Audience members are welcome to bring their lunches to enjoy during the concert. You may also want to pack a lawn chair or blanket to sit on, as permanent seating at the concert sites is usually limited. Come out and enjoy the summer weather with us! SCHEDULE OF PERFORMERS BY DATES Ashtabula Series Held at North Park Gazebo, Downtown Ashtabula Rain Site: First Presbyterian Church, Park Avenue July 9 - Ron Cramer July 16 - Northeasterly Winds July 23 - 3 Jazz Trio July 30 - Bill Orquist August 6 - Linda Funids August 13 - Bill Keener Jefferson Series Held at Village Park on East Jefferson Street, Jefferson Rain Site: United Methodist Church (adjacent to the park) July 10 - 3 Jazz Trio July 17 - Northeasterly Winds July 24 - Ron Cramer July 31 - Linda Fundis August 7 - Bill Orquist August 14 - Bill Keener | ||||